Masdar City - The question of replication.

The juxtaposition of Masdar City aka "The Eco-City" in the bread basket of one of the world's top ten oil exporting countries is every bit ironic. The carbon-neutral city is located in Abu Dhabi, Unitied Arab Emirates. My jaw dropped as I was reading the article on this oasis in the desert. I particularly found the underground transportation system to be quite fascinating.

However, I quickly began to think more critically about Masdar City. The immediate question is who gets to decide who lives there? Mr.Foster, the chief architect, eluded that the city will represent a cross section of society, from students to service workers, but it never explained how it would ensure this and ultimately this question will be answered by the government. The other issue is scale. Do you think that other places around the world be able replicate this model? I argue that UAE has fewer budget constraints than other countries. For example the Abu Dhabi government contributed $15 billion to fund the first phase of development (there are seven phases of development). Consider that the state budget for Pennsylvania is $67 billion. I can hardly imagine that Pennsylvania or any other US state government would appropriate $15 billion dollars to build a similar eco-city. Perhaps, I am thinking about Masdar City incorrectly and need to do further research. Maybe the intent of Masdar city is not to be replicated to scale, but rather a symbol of what is possible. It is an interesting question, especially when we look at it through the lens of social entrepreneurship. One of the key definitions of social entrepreneurs is the ability to achieve large-scale.

My questions are as follows: Is Masdar City scalability in the short-term? Can it create a new market equilibrium? Do you believe that Masdar City is a social innovation?